Fabrication of silicone foam/polytitanosiloxane composite with enhanced flame retardancy

In this research, a series of silicone foam/polytitanosiloxane composites (SF-pTS) were fabricated with hydroxy-, vinyl-, hydrogen-containing polydimethylsiloxanes, and polytitanosiloxane filler in the presence of a platinum catalyst under ambient conditions. The effect of the amount of polytitasiloxane on the micromorphology and flame retardancy of silicone foam was studied, and a relative flame retardancy mechanism was proposed. It could be found that the polytitanosiloxane exhibited a good dispersion level in the silicone foam, thus improving the flame retardancy of the composite. When the content of polytitanosiloxane is 9 wt%, the limiting oxygen index and UL-94 grade of the SF-pTS9 composite are increased to 29.2% and FV-0, respectively. Cone experiment results suggested that the SF-pTS9 possessed relative balanced PHRR (148.9 kW/m²), THR (58.5 MJ/m²), TSP (0.6 m²), and mass residue (83.9%) among the prepared silicone foam materials. This work provides a new avenue to fabricate a silicone foam composite with enhanced flame retardancy.